Dr. Shin Seonhan: The Doctor Who Sees the Future

Chapter 19
Triage (4)

Ham So-dam.

She was probably the most timid person you could find.

For the past month, all she had shown was a lack of confidence and a tendency to cower.

But now, it was different.

Unlike her usual self, she stood tall, blocking the guardians and glaring at them.

Did So-dam even have this side to her?

It was a series of shocking events.

“And who are you?!”

“Your child isn’t the only precious one here.”

“What?”

So-dam’s angry voice continued,

“The people injured here are all precious children of someone. And one of them was bleeding profusely and was in critical condition!”

“But…”

“This is all your son’s fault, sitting there! You should be apologizing to everyone, but what do you think you’re doing?!”

“…”

The couple’s faces flushed red.

They seemed to be speechless, struck by the truth.

So-dam said calmly,

“Of course, your son will receive treatment too. So please wait your turn.”

“How dare you… speak to us like that!”

The wife’s face turned red and blue.

Whoosh!

She raised her hand to strike So-dam.

Oh my god!

Was this a scene from a morning drama?

People around them gasped and tried to stop her, but before they could, So-dam calmly spoke,

“Are you aware of Article 12 of the Emergency Medical Service Act?”

“W-what?”

“Anyone who assaults, threatens, or obstructs emergency medical personnel can be punished by imprisonment for up to five years.”

“…”

The guardian slowly lowered her hand.

It seemed the word “imprisonment” scared her.

But still fuming, the couple pointed at So-dam in unison.

“What kind of hospital is this? How dare a mere intern threaten a guardian?”

“You disrespectful little bitch, do you know who we are? I’m going to file a formal complaint with Yeonguk University Hospital!”

So-dam calmly replied,

“Go ahead.”

“What?”

“I said, go ahead and file a complaint. My name is Ham So-dam.”

So-dam said and turned around.

“You disrespectful…”

The guardians started to shout but stopped, noticing the glares from the people around them, and reluctantly returned to their seats.

Wow…

Did So-dam have that side to her?

It was so satisfying.

Looking around, I could see that everyone had a similar expression, as if they had just had a refreshing drink.

When So-dam returned, I asked cautiously,

“Are you sure it’s okay? They seem like they’ll actually file a complaint.”

“I don’t care. I’m not afraid of anyone with my connections.”

“What?”

“I’m a royal, remember?”

I chuckled.

Well, So-dam wasn’t someone who would back down to anyone because of her background.

So-dam, who was always timid, seemed different today.

Just then, Yeo Bong-cheol approached with his imposing figure.

“Ham So-dam.”

“Oh…”

So-dam flinched and shrank back.

She was back to her usual timid self.

She must have thought she would be scolded for causing a scene with the guardians in the middle of the ER.

“Making a commotion in the ER, what do you think you’re doing?!”

Yeo Bong-cheol raised his voice for everyone to hear.

But then, he gently patted So-dam’s shoulder with his large hand and whispered,

“Nice.”

Click.

He gave her a discreet thumbs up.

So-dam’s face brightened noticeably at the unexpected praise.

“But we still need to examine that student thoroughly. He’s a patient who came to the ER, after all. You understand, right?”

“Yes.”

“Now, move it! We have a mountain of work to do.”

Thump, thump.

Yeo Bong-cheol pushed us on our backs.

There were still many patients in the ER who needed our help.

***

Two hours later.

The patients who could be discharged after examination and those who needed to be hospitalized were finally sorted.

The ER was still bustling, but it seemed to be getting organized little by little.

The high school students who had been driving under the influence were also examined, but they were discharged without any major injuries.

However, before they left, I saw a police officer processing their arrest without detention.

“Will those guys get punished properly?”

“I don’t know.”

“Even if they’re minors, those kinds of guys should be put behind bars. Look how many people got hurt because of them.”

I gave a wry smile at Joong-won hyung’s words.

The law in our country was extremely lenient towards minors, so they would probably get off with a light punishment.

Moreover, I heard that the family of the student who was driving was incredibly wealthy, almost like a chaebol.

As the so-called “child of a rich family,” he was even more likely to receive a slap on the wrist.

It was a bitter but unavoidable reality in Korea.

As I was thinking this, someone tugged on my sleeve from behind.

“Excuse me, doctor.”

“Yes?”

“Can I post this online?”

A middle school girl who had come to the ER with her guardian suddenly appeared, holding out her smartphone.

I played the video, and it showed the guardian couple causing a commotion in the ER.

The scene of them shouting.

The scene of them pushing the nurse.

And even the scene of them being dumbfounded by So-dam’s logical argument, it was all captured.

I chuckled.

“When did you film this?”

“I filmed it earlier when those people were yelling. It was absurd. They shouldn’t be acting like that towards the doctors in a hospital, right?”

“Oh… You filmed it well.”

Joong-won hyung watched from the side and admired the high-quality footage.

Kids these days were amazing. I heard they even filmed any injustices that happened at school.

I thought for a moment and then said,

“Please make it as attention-grabbing as possible.”

“How?”

“How about ‘Chaebol Couple Learns a Lesson After Throwing Their Weight Around in the ER’?”

“Aha.”

The student grinned mischievously.

If it became a hot topic, it would probably get a lot of views.

It seemed like the student already had the thumbnail image and the clickbait title all planned out in her head.

“This is my channel, so please like and subscribe!”

She even promoted her channel before leaving.

So this was what kids were like these days.

It was a moment where I truly felt the generation gap.

“Kids these days are scary.”

“You’re scary too, dude.”

“Why?”

“Asking her to make it as attention-grabbing as possible? You have a sly side hidden behind that innocent face.”

Joong-won hyung shook his head at me and walked away.

I chuckled.

If the video went viral, the chances of those people being punished properly would increase, even if just slightly.

In this day and age, once something gained explosive attention, the whole country would know about it.

***

A while later.

I finished treating the last TA (traffic accident) patient with Dr. Yeo Bong-cheol.

Fortunately, many of the patients, except for three or four, only had minor injuries.

I saw some patients, groaning, returning home with their guardians.

“Phew, I can finally breathe.”

“I didn’t realize it when I was working in the internal medicine ward, but working here makes me realize how dynamic the hospital is.”

“Of course. The ER is the ER for a reason.”

Yeo Bong-cheol said with a tired smile.

I could clearly see the bloodstains on his worn-out clothes.

I probably looked the same.

“Well, it’s still more interesting than the wards. There’s a thrill in saving emergency patients with my own hands. That’s the pride of our EM (Emergency Medicine) department.”

“It sounds appealing.”

“Whoa, are you interested?”

Dr. Yeo Bong-cheol asked playfully.

I thought for a moment.

.

It was definitely an attractive field.

Unlike the internal medicine ward, where patients with chronic illnesses gathered, it was much more active.

And I could experience the thrill of resuscitating critical patients with my own hands.

Moreover, there were advantages outside of work as well.

The on/off schedule was clear-cut, so I could have a proper work-life balance.

‘It’s not bad.’

Honestly, I would be grateful if they accepted me.

In my position, I had to accept any department at Yeonguk University Hospital with open arms.

Of course, there was still time, so I would think about it carefully.

“If I could work with Dr. Yeo Bong-cheol, I would seriously consider it.”

“Kid. Forget it. Don’t say things you don’t mean.”

Dr. Yeo Bong-cheol lightly punched my shoulder.

Seeing his smiling face, it seemed like he wasn’t serious.

“Now hurry up and go see the rest of the patients. You still have a lot of work to do.”

“Yes.”

I passed by Yeo Bong-cheol and walked on to find the next patient.

But… something felt off.

How should I put it?

I had a nagging feeling that I was missing something.

I turned my head and asked,

“Dr. Yeo Bong-cheol.”

“Yeah?”

“Was there anything we could have seriously messed up while treating the TA patients? Like a medical accident or something…”

“An accident?”

Dr. Yeo Bong-cheol tilted his head.

He looked as if I was talking nonsense.

“That’s funny. What could you possibly be responsible for? At most, you stopped bleeding, changed dressings, and did blood tests. What else is there?”

“That’s true.”

“You’re just rookie interns. What kind of mistakes could you possibly make? Don’t worry too much.”

“Okay.”

I nodded awkwardly.

He was right.

The tasks interns could do were limited.

Important procedures directly related to a patient’s life were the responsibility of professors, fellows, and residents.

Even when I recalled the events of the day, we interns hadn’t performed any risky procedures.

‘Okay. This is good enough.’

I decided to put my mind at ease.

I had done everything I could.

The most critical patient had been transferred to the operating room, and what happened after that was beyond the scope of the ER.

‘The future must have changed!’

Although I still felt a bit uneasy, I tried to convince myself.

***

When I returned to my station, Joong-won hyung was checking the piled-up task list on the screen.

“Hyung, there’s a lot of work piled up, isn’t there?”

“Oh, Seon-han.”

Joong-won hyung seemed to be back to his usual self.

He had panicked for a moment after seeing the TA patients, but now he seemed to have regained his composure.

Of course, just in case, I planned to keep an eye on him tonight.

“The TA patients are all taken care of, so let’s divide the remaining tasks and work on them together.”

“Okay… But seeing how much the list has shrunk, it seems like Jo Jin-gi took care of some of them.”

“Jin-gi?”

I tilted my head.

Why was his name suddenly coming up?

He shouldn’t be able to do anything with his injured hand.

“Apparently, his recovery was faster than expected, and he got his cast removed this evening.”

“What?”

I widened my eyes.

Just then, Jo Jin-gi appeared from the far end, looking smug.

“Hehehe, it’s fun to do some procedures after a long time.”

“Ugh, you annoying jerk. Do you know how much we suffered doing your share of the work?”

“Oh, hyung-nim, you wound me. I was frustrated and had a hard time too.”

Jo Jin-gi said, his both hands were perfectly fine.

…His hands were fine?

I felt goosebumps erupt all over my body.

Of all days, it had to be the day he got his cast removed and started working again.

‘Could it be…?’

I had a bad feeling about this.

Finally, I realized the source of my unease.

I had been so focused on the urgent traffic accident patients that I had forgotten about the existing patients.

‘Let’s check.’

I opened the patient list on the screen and scanned the completed tasks.

I meticulously checked the tasks Jo Jin-gi had handled.

There were no difficult treatments that could cause problems…

Just then, one particular item caught my eye.

— Thoracentesis

Thoracentesis.

Simply put, it was a procedure to drain fluid from the pleural space surrounding the lungs.

The patient was a man in his 60s who came to the ER with breathing difficulties due to pneumonia.

Thoracentesis itself wasn’t a particularly difficult procedure, and it was something an intern could handle.

‘But… why do I have such a bad feeling about this?’

I had an ominous feeling that I couldn’t explain.

Was this what they called intuition?

I pushed through the crowd and called out to Jo Jin-gi.

“Jo Jin-gi!”

“…?”

He turned around with a frown.